In-line skating provides exercise and has become a popular form of recreation. Like roller-skating, in-line skating is accomplished by a skater gliding on small wheels, attached to his or her boots. The activity is very similar to that of conventional roller skating. However, unlike conventional roller skates, the base of each in-line skate has a single set of wheels in a frame, that are set "in-line," one wheel behind another, extending from heel to toe.
The in-line skate design, including its significant use of lightweight thermoplastic materials, is intended to provide a more effortless glide and greater maneuverability than that found with ordinary roller skates. For smooth operation, both rely upon lubricated, precision ball bearings, but the design of conventional roller skates permits the use of wheel caps. These caps or covers are credited with helping to prevent the contamination of the roller skates' wheel bearings. In-line skates are of a basic design that cannot make use of hub caps or wheels caps designed for roller skates.
It is recognized that the life of most exercise equipment can be extended, if it is properly used and maintained; in-line skates are no exception. The in-line skate merely needs to be kept clean and the skate's straps or laces in good working condition. However,. to be able to continue to enjoy the characteristically smooth glide and maneuverability of in-line skates, the wheels must be regularly rotated and the most critical maintenance requirement attended to: lubrication of the expensive wheel ball bearings.
Typically, one of a pair of in-line skates exhibits three wheels for children, three to four wheels for recreational users, the vast majority of skaters, and five wheels for racing skaters. Most skaters try to avoid contaminating the lubrication of the wheels with dust and dirt, but it presents a constant challenge. As the in-line skates are used, the wheel bearings are continuously exposed to contamination from common dust and dirt. Some of the contamination comes from the road, sidewalk or other skating surface, and a portion of the dust is generated by the abrading thermoplastic wheels.
It is probable that the insulative nature of the heavily thermoplastic composition of the in-line skates also contributes to a buildup on the wheels of the dust and dirt contamination. As the wheels rotate at high speeds, they generate friction, accumulating a triboelectric static charge that attracts dust and dirt to the sensitive bearing mechanisms. However the contamination finds its way onto the wheels, it deteriorates the lubricant used in the wheel bearings, causing early lubricant failure and overheating. This excessive heat can distort bearing parts and destroy them. Even a small amount of lubricant contamination can significantly hinder wheel spin and impede the skater.
The present invention is directed toward preventive maintenance that protects the wheel core and bearings from the accumulation of dust and dirt. This protection prolongs the life of the wheel bearings and substantially eliminates the tedious chore of cleaning each wheel and wheel bearing component.
Each in-line skate wheel has a solid, medium-to-high durometer, elastomeric outer wheel, whose running surface is designed to endure high impact and rough contact with the ground or other skating surface. The wheels are generally formed with a hub or core made of metal, rigid thermoplastic or plastic composite material that supports the outer wheel. The outer wheel and core are permanently affixed to each other by various processes, such as Plasma Ionization Bonding and Covalent Bonding. The in-line skate wheel core is molded in a variety of styles, each having a single central hole of the precise diameter that accommodates two sets of standard wheel ball bearing casings.
A wheel-retaining, elongated channel, running parallel with the longitudinal form of the base of the in-line skate, provides a rigid frame for the attachment of in-line wheels by way of an axle. This rigid frame covers more than half of the sidewalls of each wheel so that an axle can penetrate a small hole at a position along the outside, longitudinal half of the in-line frame, and pass through the outside ball bearing casing, into and through a spacer and through the inside ball bearing casing and the small hole in the inside, longitudinal half of the frame. The axle is capped and secured on both of its ends by various means.
The ball bearing casings surrounding each axle are primarily manufactured of chrome alloy or stainless steel parts. The bearing casings positioned within the outer side of each wheel's core and the other within the inner side of the core are separated by a hollow, plastic or metal "spacer." For proper wheel rotation, the casings must be kept free of dust and dirt and properly lubricated. A pair of in-line skates has sixteen wheel bearings and to clean them, each mechanism must be carefully disassembled. As the bearing mechanisms are each comprised of approximately fourteen very small parts, they are not easily put back together. However, with some simple tools, patience and a steady hand, reassembly can be accomplished.
The present invention provides a simple in-line skate wheel cover that can be readily affixed to the sidewalls of each in-line skate wheel to shield and protect its core and sensitive ball bearing mechanisms from dust and dirt. Use of such in-line skate wheel covers helps prevent lubricant contamination and failure, prolonging the useful life of the expensive wheel bearings. When the wheel covers are in place, the need to regularly dismantle the wheels and wheel bearings mechanisms to clean the intricate components therein is substantially eliminated.